The following disclosure relates to drain stoppers and methods for using and storing drain stoppers, and has particular application to drain stoppers and methods for using and storing drain stoppers where the drain stopper can be removably mounted to a surface, such as a wall or shower door.
Drain stoppers are constructed to plug, or otherwise block, a drain opening to prevent or minimize the flow of water down the drain. Normally, drain stoppers are easily removable to allow water to flow out of a container, such as a sink or bathtub, and into the drain when blocking the drain is no longer desired. Numerous types of drain stoppers are available, such as a drain plug, that is sized to fit into and plug the drain opening in a fashion similar to a cork plugging the opening of a bottle. Other forms of drain stoppers do not fit within the drain opening, but instead fit over the top of the drain opening and extend beyond the drain opening. Typically, such drain plugs and other drain stoppers are made from hard rubber, or other hard rubber-like materials. Other forms of drain stoppers are made from a soft rubber or soft rubber-like material, such as soft PVC or equivalent material. In some instances, such drain stoppers can be a soft rubber-like material that fits over the drain, with the water pressure causing the stopper to seal against the surrounding bottom of the container so that little, if any, water flows into the drain.
However, drain stoppers similar to the above types can be somewhat annoying to use because there is often not a good place to store these drain stoppers when they are not being used to block a drain. In some cases, the drain stopper includes a metallic ring in the top that is connected to a portion of a sink or bath tub by a chain that is similar to pull chains used on light sockets. Often such drain stoppers are stored by wrapping the chain over the tub faucet or another nearby fixture. Other times, drain stoppers are placed on a ledge of the tub or sink where it is used. Some people even place the drain stopper in a drawer or in a sink cabinet when it is not in use.
The disclosed apparatus and methods avoids some of the disadvantages of prior apparatus and methods while affording additional structural and operating advantages.